A formação continuada de professoras de bebês: profissionalidade e práticas pedagógicas na creche

Abstract

Continuing professional development for teachers working with infants in Early Childhood Education, although contemplated within educational policies, still faces challenges related to recognizing the specificities of teaching infants aged four to eighteen months. In this context, this study aimed to understand how the absence of specific continuing professional development for teachers working with infants influences the visibility and appreciation of their pedagogical practices in a municipal school system located in the countryside of São Paulo State, Brazil, as well as to support the development of a continuing professional development proposal tailored to the needs identified by these teachers. The study was grounded in research on teacher education, professional development, teacher professionalism, and teaching with infants, articulated with contemporary perspectives in Early Childhood Education. This qualitative study was conducted within the framework of a Professional Master's Degree in Education and combined documentary analysis of municipal continuing professional development policies implemented between 2015 and 2024 with empirical data collected through a questionnaire administered to teachers working with infants in the municipal school system. The data were analyzed according to the study's theoretical and methodological assumptions, aiming to identify convergences, tensions, and challenges related to continuing professional development and teaching with infants. The findings showed that the participating teachers have initial training consistent with their professional roles and develop intentional pedagogical practices, recognizing infants as active subjects and understanding experiences of care, interaction, welcoming, and play as essential components of the educational process. The analysis also revealed that the knowledge required for teaching infants is predominantly constructed through everyday experiences and peer interactions in a context characterized by the limited availability of professional development initiatives specifically designed for this field. The articulation between the documentary analysis of municipal policies and the empirical data collected from teachers demonstrated that, although continuing professional development initiatives exist, they do not always address the specificities of teaching infants or the professional learning needs of teachers. Although teachers mobilize relevant knowledge in their professional practice, the lack of systematic continuing professional development affects the consolidation, theoretical grounding, and legitimation of this knowledge, contributing to the persistence of the invisibility of pedagogical practices often associated primarily with physical care and reducing the recognition of their educational dimension. The results indicate that this invisibility does not stem from a lack of pedagogical intentionality or professional knowledge on the part of teachers, but rather from the insufficiency of professional development processes capable of recognizing, strengthening, and making visible the knowledge produced in the daily life of childcare centers, thereby affecting the visibility and appreciation of this field of practice. As an outcome of the study, an Educational Product entitled Knowledge and Practices Handbook: Dialogues on Teaching with Infants was developed, consisting of an interactive pedagogical handbook and a series of professional development meetings aimed at promoting reflection on practice, the systematization of teachers' knowledge, and professional growth. It is concluded that valuing teaching with infants requires continuing professional development policies that recognize the specificities of this field, strengthen the knowledge produced by teachers, and contribute to the visibility of pedagogical practices developed in childcare centers, reaffirming both the role of Early Childhood Education as the first stage of Basic Education and infants' right to high-quality educational experiences.